I cross the street on Central Park West and inside the park I push the start button on my Garmin watch and I start running. On my back, my light pack back is prepared with water and my cell phone for photo taking. The loop is 6 miles which is 9.6 kilometers so I just run at a comfortable pace, letting my watch keep track on each kilometer. Anyhow, I don’t want to be neither distracted nor influenced by how fast or how slowly I run, so I don’t look at my watch, I just hear and feel the buzz on my arm each time another kilometer is behind me.    The street is wide with three lanes, each the same width. The right lane is for cars, the middle for bicycles, and the left for – believe it or not – runners! The few people walking on this lane are exercising. Those who are strolling or taking a walk (with or without their dog) have their own little path on the side. The street is clean – no snow and no ice at all – the walking path, however, although it has been shoveled, still have traces of ice and some slush. I am amazed how this city makes this park accessible to everyone; there is an ambiance that makes me feel welcome; I feel a kind of euphoria.

I run south and follow the path together with many other runners. Apparently, this is the first day in two weeks without freezing degrees, and that the temperature has risen is evident when some runners only bear shorts and some only a t-shirt. However, being still close to zero degrees Celsius, I have my usual three layers, long tights, gloves, and headgear. The skyscrapers on Central Park South rise tall in front of me; the trees from the park can barely reach the half height of the buildings. The blue sky and the snow on the leaves lightens up the day that has scarcely begun. My watch buzzes and I recognize a place to my right where I remember having been on New York Marathon After Race Expo, two years earlier. Before my eyes, I see all the runners going into the hall and coming out with bags filled with souvenirs from the race. I am grateful but also a little melancholic for those memories.

I turn left and now the lanes for bikes and runners are narrowing but there is still plenty of space to run. Heading north, the hills come into view and another memory emerges – from the New York Half Marathon – where I first discovered the hilliness of the park. Nevertheless, I keep pace and soon the Metropolitan Museum of Art is on my right hand side. The snow on the lawns are so white with no trace of exhaust fumes. Dogs are playing in the snow and their owners are throwing balls for them to fetch. I catch a glimpse of The Reservoir on my left but I know from yesterday’s ”inspection run” that there is too much snow to run up there so I keep going straight forward. Now the street is closed for cars so only runners, bikes and some single snow clearance truck are occupying the path. After the fifth buzz, I pass a guy who runs a little slower than me. But he increases his speed and for the next three kilometers, I hear him breathing right behind me. Nonetheless, I just keep on running, maybe a little faster, unconsciously.
Reaching the north of the park, the road is first a downhill curve but turning back south now comes a long uphill. The guy behind me is catching his breath and nearly passing me, but only nearly. When I see The Reservoir again on my left, I cannot hear him anymore and when I am in line with the Ghost Busters Towers on my right hand side, I make my first stop. I open my pack back, reach for my water bottle and take a few zip. I fetch my cell phone and activates the camera. With the towers in the background, I take a selfie with the sun in my eyes and the brightness makes me smile with joy.

I carry on south and soon I am back at my starting point. Loop number one, almost 10k. I look at my watch for the first time and it surprises me how fast I am running. I have to slow down, I tell myself, in order to make the next loop without being too exhausted.
The next loop, nevertheless, goes just as smooth as the first and almost as fast. I just can’t slow down and I feel strong and full of energy. When I come to The Reservoir the second time, I just have to run up there and see the lake and take some photos. The lake is covered with ice but the jet of water in the middle is alive and sprouting as it hadn’t noticed the cold. On the path there is some mud and the ground is uneven but it is fine to run a bit. So, I only run a short distance and stop where the sunbeam comes through between the tall buildings on Central Park East. I take a couple of photos and drink some water and then I continue down on the running street. I enjoy the downhill curve and now the uphill on the way back feels easier, probably because I knew what was coming.
After the second loop, I still have strong legs and I just don’t feel tired, so I take another, however shorter loop. I make a shortcut on Terrace Drive (at 72nd St) and another after passing The Reservoir for the third time, at 97th St Transverse. I run out from the park at 81st St and I pass the Natural History Museum on my left and when I reach Columbus Avenue, I stop my watch.

Twenty-six kilometers in two hours and fifteen minutes!